Rowes Garage Ltd, a car dealership in Cornwall, has been fined £204,000 after a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found employees were exposed to risks from vibrating tools. Plymouth Magistrates’ Court heard that two workers at the Truro body shop were diagnosed with Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) due to the use of tools such as random orbital sanders.
The court was informed that the garage had failed to implement adequate measures to assess and monitor employee exposure to vibration. The company, located in Fifth Avenue Business Park, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The HSE reported that one employee had been experiencing symptoms for approximately eight years, describing how their fingers would turn white and lose feeling, particularly in damp or cold conditions, with symptoms worsening over time and affecting their ability to pick up small items.
HSE inspector Emma O’Hara stated that employees had been exposed to risks from vibrating tools for a considerable period and that the company’s standards fell below what was expected, which was reflected in the imposed fine. She emphasised that HAVS is a serious and permanent condition and that the HSE would take action against employers failing to meet expected safety standards.
In addition to the fine, the company was ordered to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge and £8,099 in costs during a hearing on 8 May.
Source: BBC News
C
Feel this story needs more detail, seems ridiculous get a job in a bodyshop and have to use random orbital sanders…. Feel sorry for the company as if being in business isn’t hard enough… all seems to be for the employees and customers these days.
Chris Angus
Yeah seems a bit harsh that, blaming the garage!
I know lots of people that suffer with white fingers when cold, me included from when I was a young boy, and often a symptom of Raynaud’s phenomenon.
Just another excuse for people to make some extra cash and blame it on the employer, our country and it’s rules are getting out of control now
graham+cox
why do we bother to try to run garages
all stacked against us
Andrew MacCreadie
Very True
Tracey Pointer
Who has this £214000 pounds the victims or government 🤔
Rob
Might as well pack up all garages as we all use vibrating tools everyday.
Ive been using them for over 52 years in the trade & not too many issues? feel for the labourers but its part of the job, the garage will now probably go under no one can sustain that sort of loss.
Dave's autos
Having been in and around the motor trade most of my life,I now run a fabrication factory.By simple assessments you can establish if your team are at risk from Havs and how to monitor this.Looks to me like the employer failed to do,what takes about 20 mins to action and has paid the financial cost.The fine is a penalty,not compensation,so not sure the employees have directly benefited….yet…other than the garage should now have monitoring in place..
James
every trade has its risks, as long as the individual is aware of the risk and takes precautions then the business should not be responsible. now watch the slogans ‘if there’s some one to blame make a claim’ field day for the claims companies.